VISUWALLISE Presentation

Final Presentation

That Tom helpfully put into ISSUU for your viewing pleasure!



We had all gotten together to plan the slides and each sent separate bits in for Tom to compile into the presentation. A script was also written as a framework for our presentation, but it was not set in stone so we could add personal bits and ad lib etc. Before the presentation we ran through it a good 5/6 times, the first time we barely got over 4mins even when we added extra parts the presentation was barely scraping 7 minutes! So we were pretty worried going in, as we didn't know if we would be able to get the presentation up to 10 minutes!


By some mad feat of ad-libs and false confidence, we smashed through the 10 minutes! Even got a few laughs too! Overall I think it went down well, our business pitch was definitely viable. I think having George do some live drawing was a good idea, as it allowed us to show a part of our potential business while also having Georgie participate in the presentation in a way he was most comfortable with rather than forcing him to speak.

We got some feedback on our hierarchy as we appointed Tom CEO, who would take 40% of the earnings, while me, George and Ellie would take 20% each - and while it made sense that he should take a cut since he would not be an 'artist' but would liase with clients and get us work we hadn't quite thought through how the earnings would be split if one of us had to design a piece but it would take more than one of us to create the piece. I feel like a lot of the roles ended up resting on Tom when we probably could have shared them between ourselves more equally.

Further thoughts we could have considered are outsourcing the 'makers' if a job came in far away, or factoring in travel costs etc.

A comment on our presentation was whether we thought that the presentation we had delivered was appropriate for high end clients such as John Lewis, while I am not sure the exact presentation we delivered to the class may have been I definitely think that we could have adapted what we showed to meet the standards of high end clients.

Much to people's surprise, I get really nervous in presentations and have to put on this false sense of confidence to get anywhere in presenting - which usually means I say some stupid/funny things that may not be appropriate for a pitch, I sort of feel as if I brought the tone of the presentation down a level and it could have been more professional. In some situations my humour can be a good thing but it's definitely something that I feel I will need to look at in the future so I can make sure my tone is appropriate for what I'm doing.

Overall I think this project has been quite fun! I was glad to have people in my group who had a lot of ideas, there wasn't a great deal of conflict within the group and Tom was a natural leader which I think helped the group a lot (as sometimes you can find yourself in a group where no one wants to lead and end up a bit lost or stuck on what to do). The group got along well, and everyone's input was taken into account. I feel like I didn't do as much as I could have on this project, maybe I didn't pull my weight as much as I should have (but at least I showed up to the sessions!), though maybe I am just being paranoid.

Mockups

Before it's closure in April 2015, Fab Cafe had a wall painting above the bar that had a lot of reference to pop / geek culture icons. I thought that this could be a cool basis for my mockup, as I am into that kind of stuff, plus I miss Fab and so it can be with me in spirit through this design. (Though there is still one in Manchester).

I used the same pink colour they used on the walls for the background to give it the pre-existing old sci-fi feel. I envisioned this being a whole room rather than just one wall, so I did four designs. - When I drew them on paper they all connected but this was harder to line up digitally, but theoretically they would all blend together. I did small paintings of each element and brought them all together in photoshop to create a more final design. There are lots of other elements and references I could have added but I didn't want to make the images too overpowered and busy!

Here I have made a bit of a mockup by editing my designs onto the walls of Fab Cafe Manchester. (My editing skills are not the greatest but I think this gets the point across)

Visuwallise : Communication & Presentations

Since we all have different commitments and stuff to do we communicate a lot Via a Facebook chat, where we can send in what we have done and get some immediate feedback (if the others are online). This helps us keep up with stuff at different times when we may be ill, or not in college but still contributing to the group.

We have been discussing logo's, Tom sent some designs into the chat. I quite liked one as I thought it was easier to read but also it's shape was not as ergonomic as our original design. The design was based on two walls meeting and "wall" is the meeting of the walls.

 The chat has been good for discussing ideas on the presentation too!

I also used the chat to put forth a mockup website. I knew that we liked the idea of white on black but I wasn't sure whether that would be too overbearing for the whole website - so I kept the logo white text on black as a banner at the top but made the rest of the page white, as I thought this looked slick - and also broke up the page a little, making it easier on the eye. (Though I believe Tom is going to edit this so it fits better with the presentation). We have a running theme of triangles in our presentation, so I thought it would be nice to keep that element (using George's mockup)

SWOT Analysis : Visuwallise

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

*identify strengths of both your product/service and the competition

*identify weaknesses

*can you see any opportunities?

*potential threats?

Personal:

What are the strengths of your product?

The service we offer is bespoke with a variety of working styles to contribute to the design process. 5 collaborative brains, and different approaches to art. 

Weaknesses

Our practice may be mis interpreted as just mural artists, when really we're going for something more fresh than 'murals'

Any Opportunities?

Festivals, venues, events, cafes, bars, interiors, charitable work/events

Threats? 

Other artists offering a similar service

Global: 

What are the strengths of your product?

Our service is personal and bespoke, since there are 5 of us it is versatile and each of us have different approaches to the service. We also have means of creating good quality mock-ups that we can show the customer before they commit to a design.

Weaknesses?

A lack of experience in doing walls themselves. (larger scale stuff to go on walls, perhaps but walls themselves not so much). 

Could be misinterpreted as just mural artists - May also be interpreted as too vague a service - (What is space rejuvenation? should we narrow it back down, to something more understandable and focused). 

Not equipped for building, if people want their walls sanded down and prepped before we slam some pictures on them?

Any opportunities?

Festivals, venues, cafe's& bars, exposure through live events, start simple, local businesses

places your work can be seen, people see-people want

Threats?

Adverse weather, imitation by mega corporations, members of our team could be unreliable

Marketing

but what is... Marketing?

You have an idea, how do you convert it into a business from here? Understanding what consumers want and creating something for it.

Functions of Marketing:

• identify customer needs and develop new products through market research
• promote and introduce products to a target market
• monitor and assess the performance of the product
• develop an appropriate pricing strategy
• identify distribution networks 
• value added, improve customer experience through value added benefits

Marketing is time consuming and very expensive

What can be Marketed? EVERYTHING (with the right tools)

 4 P's of Marketing: Product, Price, Place, Promotion 

Product: A tangible good or intangible service

Price: The price paid for a product or service

Place: The arena or context in or through which the consumer can access the product

Promotion: Promotion encompasses all methods of communication used to inform about the product

- The Marketing mix can help to identify your target market. 

Your business should have a USP - but if you don't have one, MAKE one!

Marketing can help understand what unique needs your product or service meets

delivers message and philosophies underpinning your product

helps differentiate your product/ service

identifies a range of audiences to advertise to

informs existing and new consumers and customers about new and developing products, how and where to access them. 

(Think Steve Jobb's marketing of apple products, announcement of the product but making the customer wait for it! )

You can do the market research via primary (new information you have collected yourself, perhaps through a questionnaire) and secondary data (data that has already been collected by someone else)!

 Quantitative data - Facts, numbers, objective data

Qualitative data - opinions and such, subjective data

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

*identify strengths of both your product/service and the competition

*identify weaknesses

*can you see any opportunities?

*potential threats?

Business Concept & Manifesto!

Business Concept Personal:

What is your business idea?

'Visuwallise' - A collective of artists offering wall paintings, temporary installations etc for a range of purposes such as events and interior decoration. 

How did you come up with it?

We thought it would suit us as it is a versatile practice & any of our styles could be applied to it. Tom has software that aids the making of mockups too. 

What excites you about it?

It's different to anything I would have considered doing individually. Working as a group but being able to keep your own voice is great! I am excited but the prospect of seeing my work on a much larger scale than I would have ever considered before. 

What industry does it belong to?

Service

What improved features / services do you provide?

Something new? Something better?

Reinventing/rejuvenating wall space, offering interesting and varied designs that are exciting and fresh. Since there are five of us there are different styles and designs to choose from. 

What is your market - who are your potential customers?

Anyone who needs a wall filling with pictures. We want to keep our options open and not limit ourself to one target audience, our business is versatile so we should keep an open mind about customers. Potential customers could be events organiser, venue owners, homeowners etc.

Which companies or types of companies do you think of as potential competition?

Freelance mural artists

'Urban Canvas' and other such mural artists who specialise in graffiti art. 

Illustrators who will design for wall spaces (Mr Bingo etc) - Anyone who's been hired to do a wall for Byron Burgers. 

Business Concept (Global)
What is your business idea?

'Visuwallise' - An Illustrative collective specialising in the rejuvenation of interior and exterior spaces

How did you come up with it?

We identified a gap in the market and filled it with a business that can celebrate our differences

What excites you about it?

Seeing out work on a grander scale, there is a sense of freedom (of process and ideas) as there are few restrictions. Also it's versatile

What industry does it belong to?

Service

What improved features / services do you provide?

Something new? Something better?

Can cater to a multitude of audiences, as we are a varied collective. No job is too big or too small!
We are not just 'mural artists', we are rejuvenating these spaces (with more edge) 

What is your market - who are your potential customers?

Mainly businesses and events, however there are no limits - if there is a demand for something we will do it!!

Which companies or types of companies do you think of as potential competition?

Freelance mural artists

'Urban Canvas', Wallsauce, etc

Illustrators who will design for wall spaces (Mr Bingo etc) - Anyone who's been hired to do a wall for Byron Burgers.

Business Manifesto (Personal)
Core business concept: Visuwallise; a collective of illustrators specialising in rejuvenation of interior and exterior spaces
Core business values: creative differences are there to be celebrated
Core business goals: hire our services out to businesses / events / establishments etc and gain recognition through our work
Core financial goals: profit from our work after expenses
Corporate Culture: Individuality is good!


Business Manifesto (Global)
Visuwallise this, a collective specialising in rejuvenating interior and exterior spaces. A dependable, creative service providing unconventional solutions to like minded businesses, events and initiatives.

Life's a Pitch - Market Research

http://www.susannahbrough.com/

Susannah Brough is a London based mural artist and furniture painter. With her murals she does not
limit herself to a particular kind of space, she will do most anywhere.
Her site does not specify fixed rates, it seems the pricing is mainly based off the space and what's to be done. Maybe there's a base rate that she works from though.

Urban Canvas

A collective specialising in murals and graffiti art, for  "a range of creative products". You can tell the work is very urban and graffiti inspired, it's got the aesthetic and vibe - probably appealing to a younger audience. Their style doesn't seem to have held them back from anything though as they have worked on a broad range of things including Kids Bedrooms and Home interiors - places I would not expect to see this kind of thing.

Mr Bingo

While I don't think this is a way of speaking to potential customers we could employ on a website, I think it's pretty funny. (and a reminder to not underprice work just to attract customers, your work and time is worth something). Below is a piece of work Mr. Bingo did for Byron Burgers - which shows that it is a feasible project for an illustrator to undertake and is not just for specialist groups / people. (this broadens the hypothetical competition for 'visuwallise' though)

I googled the rate of this kind of thing and this was the first estimate that came up on google, it translates to £13.49 - £23.62 PSF. The artists websites I checked did not have a rate shown, as it generally depends on the size of the space, I'm wondering if it would be good to have a base rate though? This will need further research for sure. 

VISUWALLISE

In this session we discussed our separate traits to find out what we've got going for us in our groups. By writing about each other's traits rather than our own we were able to find out more, as then we could  find out what others see in us rather than what we think of ourselves. This was good because I'm quite self deprecating so I probably wouldn't have written anything good about myself! (Also I wrote Frazer's traits down, but I don't know Frazer very well so I found it a little difficult!)

My Good Points - By Frazer

•  Comic / Dramatic style
• Humour
• Drawing
• Talking/ Articulating
• Narrative
• Colour and shape
• Nerd

I agree about most of these points - People think I'm good at talking when actually I'm very nervous all of the time, sometimes I nearly cry just from talking to people (conceal don't feel) 

We started to think about where we'd like our work to be seen. Our business is based around wall art, so what establishments would we want our art on? Thinking ethically too like we wouldn't want to be doing work for the BNP or anything against our moral values. To quote Frazer "not seaworld, they're bastards" 

 

Places I could imagine my work on the walls are include

• Comic shops - Or other similar places 
• Niche/themed bars
• Cafe's
• WALLS - barriers for building works etc
• Temporary pieces for events - Conventions
• bookshops
• sweet shops?

To describe our business we each wrote Haiku's:

"Collective of five

together we will strive, to

Make walls come alive"

was mine but I hate it, Haiku's are so hard and this just sounds disjointed and just BAD in this context. Others had much better ones.

A helpfully written business concept by Tom

Sectors & Services

The Crumpled City Junior - Illustrated Maps for Urban Jungles 
This product is in the tertiary sector. It is a retail item, mass produced and sold in many different places, including online. These maps are designed for children and are made from materials that make them durable - thus appealing to parents of children in a retail environment, they'd probably be more inclined to buy this so I think that makes it pretty successful. The maps show 'must go' places in these cities, and are visually interesting to look at. I think because they are maps and show activities and places to go, rather than just the streets this product also relates to tourism. 


Sailor Jerry Rum - Packaging / Poster. This has been made for the secondary sector as it relates to breweries and bottlers, (though the imagery may have initially been tattoo designs which would be the creative industries and tertiary sector(?), they have been repurposed for this product). By using the Sailor Jerry name and imagery it relates the product to a longstanding and well known and respected 'brand' that is Sailor Jerry tattoos. The traditional style is ever popular, and with resurgences in vintage aesthetic the look promotes sales of this product.



Editorial Illustration by Jillian Tamaki
This also relates to tertiary sector as newspapers are somewhat of a retail product, being mass produced and sold. It also has links to entertainment and media. Though I think as newspapers spread current events, information, news etc it could be loosely related to the quaternary sector. The imagery frames the text, making a visually intriguing layout. Viewers are more likely to read / buy an item that is visually appealing.



Album art by Heidi Taillefer. This would be part of the tertiary sector as it is a CD album cover, making it part of the entertainment industry. It is a concept album, so the artist has had to work closely with the musicians to encapsulate the feel of the music, and the themes of the story in the image which will overall represent it. It is clear that this is a sci-fi story.



Emily Carroll - Through The Woods.
Again this falls within the tertiary sector as the book's main purpose is entertainment. The stories started off as web comics, so I believe they must have been successful enough to warrant compiling them into a mass produced book to be sold in retail.

Life's a Pitch

This session started off with us writing all the jobs an Illustrator can do. Like the tasks of "where is illustration" we found that there are indeed LOTS of jobs an illustrator could do. People tend to think illustrators just do freelance illustration or kids books or whatever but there is a whole range of things an illustrator COULD do. This nicely led us on to 'Life's a Pitch' as it started us off fresh in the brain that we could basically pitch ANYTHING as our business, what's holding us back? NOTHING that's what!

In my Life's a Pitch group are George, Ellie, Tom and Frazer - people that I've not really spent a great deal of time around but I know their art style is very different to mine! This project seems like it's gonna be fun since we're all so different, we have different things to bring to the table.
We had 10 minutes to create a business idea! Normally this would have me screaming internally as I'm not very decisive at all! But luckily we had Tom in our group, who is decisive and knows a bit about business - a helpful asset! After some discussion we came up with the idea that for now we've called "Wallustration" (though... this is subject to change) (Wall + Illustration = Wallustration). Which would basically be a service offering bespoke wall art, for venues and events and including a live drawing element.
This idea capitalises on the fact that we have different styles as it gives us more to offer a client!